Caring to vote

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: May 6, 2008

Caring to vote

Tuesday’s primary election proved one thing – people care. They care about their town, their future, their county and their country.

At 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, two hours before the polls closed, 1,034 people had voted in Mayodan. Those are phenomenal numbers, considering the entire population in 2006 was 2,610, according to the U.S. Census.

Numbers were similar throughout the county. In Stoneville, 870 people had voted by late afternoon; in Madison that number was 690. Eden 1 had registered more than 820 voters by 4:30, and Reidsville Middle School had 1,159 voters as of 5:30.

About 36 percent of the county’s nearly 57,000 registered voters took part in Tuesday’s primary. Chalk one up for the democratic process.

People came out to support Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who was declared the winner in the N.C. Democratic presidential primary just minutes after the polls closed at 5:30 p.m. We selected candidates for governor, as well as pared the list of potential county commissioners to six.

Rockingham County residents, apparently scared off by the word “tax,” voted down a proposed quarter-percent increase in the sales tax to fund school construction. We understand voters’ reluctance to approve a new tax, but residents’ shouldn’t be surprised when officials vote to raise property taxes.

Voters in Mayodan approved liquor by the drink, and we applaud them. This issue gained attention throughout the county, and people weren’t shy of stating their opinions on the Web site and in the newspapers.

Each side passionately defended its position, but voters, we believe, made the right choice. It may take years before the U.S. 220 corridor is filled with hotels and restaurants, where out-of-towners and residents alike will spend their money. But it’s a promising start, and proof that people in Mayodan and throughout the county care deeply about their communities.